The Town of Bartica

The Preamble to an 1887 ordinance in British Guiana stated that it had become necessary for the “establishment and regulation of a town” at the confluence of the Essequibo, Mazaruni (Massaruni) and Cuyuni rivers.

The point, known as Bartica Grove, was chosen for the new town. In 1829 the Church Missionary Society established the area to conduct missionary work, and it was known for its quiet environment surrounded by palms and mango groves.

The name was later shortened to Bartica, which is said to mean “red earth” in one of the Amerindian languages, as the community developed into a town.

It was the discovery of gold in the Essequibo, Guiana interior that focused imperial eyes on Bartica Grove to establish a central location to register, monitor and manage the influx of labourers entering and leaving the region’s gold lands.

The area was soon divided into rectangular grid lots, and its avenues given the simple names of First, Second, Third etc., despite being mostly unoccupied and surrounded by sheer jungle then. However, two or three hostels were soon providing room and board and a market was added, though few marketing activities flourished and it was considered mainly thriving with rum shops at the time.

A hospital and new police station were also added later.

As the land nearest the river was relatively low, a draining trench was soon dug and a koker installed. Further inland however, the lands become hilly, and in modern times people often resort to taking taxis to travel up and down its distant hilly slopes.

Bartica Grove was one of the earliest Anglican missionary settlements in British Guiana where the land was originally obtained from Sir Benjamin D’Urban.  The mission was moved from its original site – a mile westward – to the present Bartica site in 1837 which was obtained from the Crown.

A church dedicated to St. John the Baptist had been built after a visit from the Bishop of Barbados in 1836, which was consecrated by the Bishop of Guiana in 1843.

During the mid 19th century, a monument was erected on the avenue leading to the church, in memory of a Reverend Pierce and his family who all died on the rapids of the Essequibo when the area served a small church and Amerindian community.

There were also plans to construct a railway from Bartica to Potaro. That however, never materialised.

Bartica has been given the title “Gateway to the Interior” though it is often bypassed by gold companies’ air transporting workers. However, smaller categories of miners do establish bases at Bartica today still.

There is also another memorial today called the “Monument of Hope” in memory of the Feb 17, 2008 Bartica massacre that left 12 persons dead and four wounded. A plaque located in the compound of the Bartica Police Station was also unveiled in honour of the policemen killed in that attack. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)